Ningyo are creatures in Japanese folklore that look like mermaids. Ningyo translates as "fish-man", there are the names of gyojin or hangyojing (half-man-half fish). Despite the similarities to mermaids, there are many differences between them.
In European legends, mermaids are described as beautiful creatures that bring death to men. There are no standard legends about Japanese ningyo. They looked differently and behaved differently with people.
Appearance
Unlike European mermaids, Japanese ningyo are ugly. Often they are depicted with a lower body like a fish, and an upper body like a monkey. In regional myths, descriptions of ningyo are found, which are similar to Western mermaids.
Usually ningyo does not have a human body like mermaids do. They have a fish body and a human / monkey / reptilian head. Sometimes the head was drawn disproportionately large, with horns or fangs.
Ningyo with a fish body and a human head
Promotional video:
There is a type of ningyo called amabi / amabiko, covered with scales, with a bird's head.
Supernatural abilities
According to legend, ningyo possessed magical powers. For example, their tears turned into pearls, and the Amabis were able to predict the future. According to the history of the 19th century, the amabi appeared before the people and predicted a good harvest and a plague. She advised them to take a picture of her to protect themselves from the plague.
Edo Amabi Tile
Some ningyo were not so friendly towards people. They could change their appearance and lure men into the sea.
800 year old nun
The most famous belief about ningyo is that their meat bestows eternal life or longevity. The most famous myth on this topic is "Happianku Bikuni" (800-year-old Buddhist nun). One day a fisherman caught a ningyo. He invited friends to dinner.
His friends realized that the meal was made from ningyo meat and refused to eat. But the fisherman's youngest daughter ate the meat. She stopped growing at 15, became a nun, and lived for 800 years traveling.
Ningyo, drawing by artist Toryama Sekien, who specialized in depicting mythical creatures and demons
Tensho Kiosa Temple
The ancient Japanese believed in the existence of ningyo. The body of a ningyo is kept in the Tensho-Kiosa temple. According to legend, one day a ningyo appeared before a Japanese prince. The creature, dying, told the prince how it turned into a ningyo. This ningyo was once a fisherman who crossed forbidden waters to fish, was cursed and turned into a ningyo.
Tensho Kiosa Temple
The fisherman learned his lesson and asked the prince to establish a temple where his remains would be kept. Anyone who looks at the body of this creature, it will remind of the sanctity of life. It is possible that this ningyo is one of the earliest examples of "mermaids" created by the Japanese, the most famous of which was the Fiji mermaid.
Ningyo from Tensho Kiosa Temple